Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi has told Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea that midfielder Jorginho is 'complicated' to play against amid transfer exit talks to Juventus.
The pair faced off against each other in the 2022 Finalissima as the Champions of Europe wilted against the Copa America winners in a packed-out Wembley Stadium on Wednesday night. In terms of looking at the game from a Chelsea perspective, Jorginho alongside loanee for 2021/22 Emerson Palmieri both started the contest for Robert Mancini's men.
The Brazilian-born left-back is being viewed as Ben Chilwell's natural backup for 2022/23 and his performance in this one showed just why he would be a competent back-up despite a few struggles with dealing with the red-hot Messi on the night. It was a different story for the 30-year-old who looked somewhat off the pace in an Italy midfield that was overwhelmed by Lionel Scaroni's side who made a real statement of intent ahead of Qatar 2022 with three goals and another trophy for Messi and co including Blues target and Lautaro Martinez to build upon the newly found confidence of this rejuvenated giant of world football.
READ MORE: Neymar, Robert Lewandowski and Eriksen: Todd Boehly handed Chelsea's fantasy transfer window
There were forgettable moments during the full 90 minutes for Chelsea's number five including plenty of stray passes which never found their targets. But the symbolic moment to sum up his below-par performances was when midway through the second half, Argentina's magic number pickpocketed him and set up a five vs three counter-attacks.
Thankfully, from Jorginho's perspective, Gianluigi Donnarumma and the three Italian defenders were able to bail him out on this occasion but that didn't take away from the fact that one year on from a remarkable season that saw the former Napoli man become a European Champion on the club and world scene, he has since struggled to continue on the personal success this in 2021/22 with his own inconsistent performances.
That is exactly why Chelsea and manager Thomas Tuchel have a big decision to make- do they let go of a player whose agent has made it clear has ambitions to return to Serie A in the near future with Juventus keen admirers or do they keep the former Ballon d'Or candidate and get ride of the German's own version of Neymar in the form of N'Golo Kante, who has been recently linked to joining Erik ten Hag's Man United revolution?
Well, Messi himself understands that 'complicated' decision that Todd Boehly and the board have on their hands with his surprise verdict on his own experience of playing against the Chelsea man at the National Stadium this midweek.
In his post-match interview within the mixed zone, he told reporters regarding Jorginho's performance: "The first half was a bit complicated for us because we couldn't find a way around Jorginho, who played a bit free and that made it difficult for us to get the ball."
Chelsea fans- What would you do with Jorginho this summer- keep or sell? And if you say sell, who would you bring in as his replacement? Leave us your thoughts in the comments section below!
